Pumpplungeb



Dec. 7, 1937. v J. N. MARTIN PUMP, PLUNGER Original Filed May 4, 1957 wwm I N YEN TOR. da/r/v N. NAB T/N BY flea/17,1 -g/ ATTORNEYS.

Reissued Dec. 7, 1937 UNITED STATE PUIHP PLUNGER John N; Martin, Tulsa,Okla.

Original No. 2,095,708,

Serial No. 140,703, May 4, 1937.

dated October 12, 1937, Application for reissue ctober 19, 1937, SerialNo. 169,920

3 Claims.

My invention relates to pump plungers and particularly to plungers foruse in deep well pumping against relatively high fluid heads.

In plungers of this type which have heretofore been used, compositionpacking rings are assembled in groups on a body or piston, each ringbeing separated from the next by a loose washer compressed and worn outin a relatively short time. This sets a practical limit on the pressureagainst which this type of plunger will work, or the depth of the wellwhich can be pumped by this means. Actual experience shows that afterthe failure of onering, usually the bottom ring of each group on atravelling valve working in the ordinary working barrel, the other ringsare quickly torn up.

For use in pumping wells where the pressure is beyond the practicallimit for composition packedv o plungers, pumps having all-metalplungers which fit very closely within the cylinder are used.

There are two main objections to this type of pump. One isthedeleterious effect upon the efficiency of the pump resulting fromabrasion 01 the plunger and cylinder surfaces due to sand particleswhich are usually present in the well fluids, and second, the relativelyhigh cost of such pumps. 7

Therefore, one object of this invention is to provide a plunger, havingcomposition packing rings, for pumping against pressures hitherto beyondthe practical limits of such packing and to thereby provide a relativelylow cost pump for deep well pumping.

A particular object of this invention is to provide a plunger body whichis grooved to receive composition packing rings, either singly or inmultiple, so that each ring or multiple ring is firmly held in placewithout the use of removable spacers or compression nuts, and entirelyindependently of the adjoining rings.

1 Another object is to arrange the packing rings on the plunger body sothat each ring'offers its resistance to the slippage of fluidindependently of any other ring.

A further object is to obtain greater wearing life from a group ofpacking rings by an arrangement whereby the failure of any one ring willplace no handicap upon the other rings except to transfer its percentageof pressure resistance upon them. 7

Still another object is to provide a plunger which will pump against anydesired pressure or at any depth in a well.

An additional object is to eliminate the necessity of anyadjustments,such as are required on present types of plungers; of thecomposition packed type, by utilizing composition packing rings whichswell in the presence of the fluid to be pumped and which have swellingcharacteristics pre-determined for each type of fluid to be pumped.

Other objects and advantages of my new invention will be evident fromthe following detailed description when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing which illustrates one form of,.my new invention.

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a portion of a conventional working barrelfrom which a part of the wall has been broken away showing a sec-.

tional elevation of a plunger in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of a plunger in accordance with thisinvention showing same removed from theworking barrel.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional viewof one of the composition packingrings before swelling has occurred.

Fig. 4 is a similar view of the ring after swelling to its normalworking form.

Referring to the drawing, numeral 5 designates a conventional workingbarrel, in which is mounted a cylindrical plunger body 6, the outsidediameter of which is slightly smaller than the bore 5a. of barrel .5,thereby allowing plunger body 8 to slide freely within the bore 5a. Theupper end of the body 6 is connected by threaded attachment to aconventional travelling valve cage I which is in turn connected to thelower end of a pumprod 8 by means of a collar 9. Body 6 has an axialbore i0 extending therethrough to permit passage of fluids through thebody. A conventional ball valve H cooperates with an annular seat l2which is mounted within cage 1, the valve II and seat i2 cooperating toopen or close bore I0 in accordance with the reciprocation of body 6. 7

Body 6 is provided with a series of spaced circumferential grooves l3which are substantially rectangular in cross-section and which are cutinto the metal forming the walls of body 6. Grooves I3 are preferablyspaced equidistant from each other along body 6. The cutting of groovesI3 at spaced distances into the metal of body 6 provides interveningmetal lands II, which are also substantially rectangular in crosssection and which are circular in transverse section, the diameter ofthe latter section being the same as that of body 6 from which the landsI4 are formed. Each face of lands I4 which form the sides of grooves I3,has an annular recess I5 cut therein which is of angular shape.

The face .of the recess I5 farthest removed from.

the axis of body 6 being substantially parallel to this axis and theopposite face sloping from the bottom of the recess in the direction ofthe. adjacent groove.

Each of grooves I3 is fitted with a packing ring I6 whose normal crosssectional area is only very slightly smaller than that of grooves I3 andis of corresponding shape so as to fit closely therein. Rings I6 are ofsplit construction having a bias split I'I (Figs. 3 and 4) to permitmounting lines in Fig. 2, whereby permitting the ready insertion-jofbody 6 and rings Iii/into bore 5a.

When pumping fluids such as oil or a mixture of oil and water, packingrings I6 are preferably formed of such composition material as is usedin rubber belting, that is, rubber and fabric composition which willswell in the presence of such fluid. When pumping water, other materialwhich have the characteristic of swelling in the presence of water, orbelting composition may also be used for this service by firstassembling under-sized rings on body 6 and causing them to swell apre-determined amount by immersion in oil and after the rings haveswelled to the desired size, the plunger may be utilized for pumpingwater.

By providing packing rings which normally, that is before swelling,completely fill grooves I3, such rings when in contact with fluidsproducing swelling thereof, can swell only into recesses I5 andoutwardly beyond the outer edges of grooves l3 toward bore 5a. Theprotrusion of the material of rings I6 into recesses I5 forms annularridges I8 on the sides of the rings adjacent to lands I 4 and ridges I8will assume a shape corresponding to the outline of recesses l5 and willserve to anchor rings I6 in grooves I3 against displacement by frictionof the rings against the bore 5a. Since the extent of the swelling ofthe'packing rings is limited by the sides of grooves I3, the majorportion of such swelling will be in the direction of bore 5a and thedegree of such swelling can bepre-determined for each packing materialin relation to the fluid to be pumped so that a good pumping flt betweenthe packing rings and bore 5a will always be provided. At the same timeswelling of the packing rings will conform in shape to the interior ofgrooves l3 and will also cause the rings to tightly fill grooves I3 andthus prevent leakage of fluid between the rings and the walls of thegrooves, the protrusion of rings I6 into recesses I5 assisting in thisrespect.

Ordinarily the clearance provided between body 6 and bore 5a will befrom about one sixtyfourth inch to about one thirty-second inch, andpacking rings I6 will be so cut,'in accordance with their pre-determinedswelling characteristics, that they will swell sufficiently. only tobridge the clearance space between body 6 andbore 5a and provide a closesliding fit in bore 5a.

By the above described arrangement, each packing ring IE will be fullysupported within body 6 by lands I4 entirely independently of everyother ring and the pumping load will be divided between the severalrings. Thus, even though one of the individual rings I6 may fail, theefliciency of the entire group of rings will be relatively unaffectedexcept that the remaining rings will have distributed on them thatportion of the pumping load which was previously carried by the ringthat had failed.

The end tightening nuts, such as are at present used, will be eliminatedby my arrangement, which instead will utilize independent packing ringswhich are self-tightening. V

The plunger of my invention, arranged as above described, will pumpagainst any desired pressure by providing a suitable number of packingrings, and will have all of. the advantages of a composition packedplunger in combating sand abrasion and in conforming itself to anyirregularities in the surface of the boreof the working barrel, while atthe same time providing a plunger which is considerably lower in costthan metal packed or all-metal pumps;

By provision of a body 6 whichais relatively which the rings "must move.Consequently, very little flexing of the rings will occur under pressurethus permitting the rings to retain their maximum sealing eficiency forrelatively long periods of time. In order to further reduce any flexingtendency of the portion of the rings which is exposed to the pressure ofthe fluid, that is, the unsupported portion of the rings, the crosssection of the grooves l3, and consequently of rings I6 is preferablymade to approach a square. For example, groove l3 may be in the form ofa rectangle in cross section, the horizontal sides of which areabout-five sixteenths inch in length and the adjacent sides about onequarter inch in length. Rings [6 will normally have approximately thesame dimensions in cross section and after swelling may increase inlength horizontelly to about eleven thirty-seconds where the clearancespace between body 6 and bore in. is one thirty-second of an inch.

It will be understood that instead of using a single packing ring ineach groove, I may use multiple rings, staggering their respectivesplits I! to reducethe possibility of fluid leaking past the rings.Instead of being split on a bias, the

other desired form for attachment thereto a conventional valve cage orother pumping attachment.

What I claim Patent is:

i. In a pump of the character described, a barre], a pump plungerarranged in the barrel and comprising a cylindrical body, rings rigidlyunited with said body and extending laterally therefrom, said ringsbeing spaced apart and forming intervening grooves substantiallyrectangular in cross section. and packing rings mounted in said groovesand engaging said barrel, said packing rings being normally of a sizeand shape to substantially fill said grooves and characterized by theirability to swell a predetermined amount.

2. In a pump of the character described, a barrel, a pump "plungerarranged in the barrel and having a plurality of ring grooves formedtherein, the said grooves being separated from each other by landsintegral with the body portion of said plunger, each of said groovesbeing substantially rectangular in cross section, and packing ringsmounted in said grooves and engaging said barrel, said packing ringsbeing normally of a size and desire to secure by Letters and shape tosubstantially 1111 said grooves and characterized by their ability toswell a predetermined amount.

3. In a pump 01' the character described, a barrel member, a pumpplunger member arranged in said barrel member and having a plurality ofring grooves formed therein, one 01 the members being adapted toreciprocate relatively to the other member, the said grooves beingseparated from each other by lands rigidly united with the body portionof said plunger member, said lands projecting into close proximity tothe inner surface of the barrel member and each land havingsubstantially parallel upper and lower surfaces which extend to theperiphery of the body, and composition packing rings mounted in saidgrooves and engaging the inner surface of the barrel, said packing ringsbeing normally of a size and shape to substantially flll said groovesand characterized by their ability to swell a predetermined amount tosnugly engage the inner surface of the barrel member, opposed surfacesof the lands being provided with means to interlock with the packingrings to hold them firmly in place.

JOHN H. MARTIN.

